“I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.” (Revelation 2:19)
The Character Of A New Testament Church
John’s revelation begins with the letters to the seven churches of Asia. The Lord points out the strengths and weaknesses of these similarly located churches to illustrate the challenges the church faced in the first century and to admonish the local church throughout the ages to learn from their examples, good and bad. Of the churches mentioned, only Smyrna and Philadelphia have nothing to condemn in their work. Four churches have a mixture of commendable and condemnable conclusions, while Laodicea has nothing good to say about the church. The Lord gave Thyatira an excellent recommendation, but it was marred by a problem with a Jezebel who taught and seduced the brethren into immoral lives. Yet, the commendation offers an example of the character of the New Testament church.
Jesus walks among the lampstands and knows all things. Nothing is hidden from His view. The first characteristic of the church at Thyatira was their works. They were an active group of saints who did not merely present themselves as a body of Christ, but as a body that is active in the work of the kingdom. Jesus recognized the valiant examples of laborers in the vineyard of the Lord in Thyatira. Every church needs a work, to know what it is and to carry out the Lord’s work. Too often, churches go through the motions each Sunday and Wednesday night, with little effort in anything else. The church at Thyatira had a work.
Love permeated the church at Thyatira. The church at Ephesus left its first love, but Thyatira is commended because its work showed love for one another and for lost souls. This diligence in the Lord’s work, rooted in love for others, strengthened their faith in God and their understanding of the church’s purpose. Jesus died to establish His church to preach the gospel, show benevolence to the saints, and hold fast to the word of truth. This work cannot be done without love for one another, which shows the saints’ faith in God’s grace and His purpose for the church. Love motivates action in Christ’s ministry. The church in Thyatira was a body of saints who let the world know they served the Lord Jesus Christ. This example was manifested in a difficult time when persecution was more common, and the Christians were challenged in their faith. Jesus knew their works, love, faith, and ministry for His glory.
The work of the church requires great patience. It requires steadfast endurance under the fires of testing, temptation, and trials. It was a challenging time for the church in the Roman Empire. John’s revelation clearly demonstrates the trials early Christians faced as the world turned against them. They found patience in their work for the Lord, love for one another, faith in the church’s mission, and the ministry of sharing the gospel with the world. Thyatira represented the complete package of a faithful church facing a harsh world with divine determination to overcome.
Everything Jesus said about Thyatira models the Lord’s church today. Every congregation needs to know it works. Without goals, plans, and the will to increase in love, faith, and diligence, the church will die. Jesus knows the work of every congregation, whether it is growing or dying. Growing churches have established their work. They have fortified that work with love for one another (which is seen and felt) and established their faith upon the word of God and His abundant grace. Faith is the centerpiece of the New Testament church. Through this diligent work, increasing love, and growing faith, the church knows its ministry. They have the patience to carry out the work, and that all they do is for the glory of God.
Jesus mentions that the church faces the trials of ungodly influence, as in the case of the woman Jezebel. The Lord did not expect the church to ignore the problem but to deal with it with righteous judgment. There will be times in the work of the church when stern measures must be taken to maintain the purity of the body of Christ. Courage leads the leaders to stand for truth and expel false teaching. When this is done with love and faith, the church will grow in its work and ministry to the glory of God. The letters to the seven churches offer many good things that will help the church grow. Dying congregations will ignore the warnings. Which church are you?
